The cowboy church is packing up its bedroll and looking for a new home on the range after the owner of a Moneta barn chose not to appeal a county complaint.

Bedford County building official Gary McIver issued a notice of violation April 28. The structure, where religious services had been held this spring, lacked proper fire exits, plumbing and electrical wiring, said Bill Hoy, a county spokesman.

Barn owner Garland Simmons, a fourth-generation farmer who hosted about six weekly services on his 900-acre spread, declined to comment on the cowboy church on the advice of his attorney, who withdrew the appeal Wednesday.

Steven Wandrei, whose firm Radford & Wandrei of Bedford represents Simmons, also declined to talk about the case.

Cowboy churches tend to attract farmers, horse enthusiasts and other people who might be busy Sundays, but want to attend a service on a weeknight. People come in jeans, boots or other down-home attire.

The Rev. Raymond Bell said he's disappointed the Moneta church hadn't evolved as envisioned -- in a country barn, with baptisms done in a horse trough and with worshippers riding on horseback to attend services.

"That's our greatest desire, and if it wasn't for Bedford County officials, we would have services going in three more barns," Bell said. "There is no question that Bedford County's actions are prohibiting people from hearing the gospel of Christ."

He said several other Moneta landowners have offered their barns, but Bell has declined to use the space because of concerns that it would "place the owners in harm's way."

After the story got national attention via a Paul Harvey radio broadcast, Bedford County received so many calls and e-mails about cowboy churches that officials posted a fact sheet about it on the county Web site (www.co.bedford.va.us/articles/cowboy.pdf).

Hoy pointed out that the county is following the state building code.

"Just about anywhere in Virginia the same law would apply," he said.

The controversy has left some Christians wondering whether having guests to their homes for prayer meetings would cause them to be in violation of building codes.

The answer to that is no, according to Hoy, who said a Bedford County family could invite 300 guests to their house for prayer without a problem. The Moneta cowboy church ran into legal trouble, he said, because it opened services up to the public.

Mat Staver, president and general counsel of the Liberty Counsel, said his conservative legal organization was poised to argue religious freedom and assembly rights on behalf of the cowboy church. But, with the appeal withdrawn, his group will remain vigilant and will monitor the county's next step.

"We'll have to wait and see how this plays out," Staver said. "There is a constitutional component that the county will have to address."

Bell said his goal is to start as many cowboy churches as possible in Southwest Virginia. He started a new cowboy ministry about 17 miles away in the Thaxton Community Center on Thursday. But he said he lost about 10 worshippers from Moneta because of the distance.

The Rev. Geoff Hubbard of Cool Spring Presbyterian Church said Bell will be their guest speaker Sunday.

"The cowboy church is not a threat to a regular church. If folks come to the Lord through their ministry, then they try to get them involved in a regular church," Hubbard said. "They are a welcome asset. They are reaching people that regular churches do not."

Bell said a cowboy church in Wytheville, which formerly operated from a livestock yard until insurance issues arose, will move this week to a new location at Virginia City, a simulated frontier town and tourist attraction in Wythe County.